Mercer students show support for sexual assault victims

The Clothesline Project invites students to write words of encouragement on t-shirts which are then displayed around campus / Danielle Apolinar (WGXA)

MACON, Ga. -- To mark the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Week, students at Mercer participated in an event Monday that raises awareness and shows support for sexual assault victims.

The event, the Clothesline Project, invites students to write words of encouragement on t-shirts which are then displayed around campus.

The Clothesline Project began in Cape Cod in 1990 and has now spread to several college campuses nationwide.

David Rebellon, a junior at Mercer, said he stopped and made a shirt that says "Love is Respect" because he has a few friends that have dealt with sexual assault and he wanted to contribute a message that there are people there to support them. He said he wants to spread the word that no one deserves to be sexually assaulted.